De Tomaso Back From The Dead

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: November 21st, 2009

Former Lancia CEO Gianmario Rossignolo has bought the De Tomaso trademark, says Der KFZ-Betrieb in Germany. In a former Pininfarina plant near Torino, 8000 De Tomasos are planned to be produced. A new De Tomaso will be shown at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show.

Three models are on the whiteboard: A luxury sedan (3000 units,) a sporty coupe(2000 units,) and a crossover SUV (3000 units.)

Argentinean racer De Tomaso launched the company 1959 in Modena. De Tomaso produced a series of highly regarded low-volume sports cars. Lewd thoughts of the Mangusta or the Pantera still make geriatric connoisseurs drool. (How’s that for an excuse …) A year after De Tomaso’s death in 2003, the company followed him into the grave.

#BertelSchmitt #DeTomaso #Italy

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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4 of 13 comments

Sajeev Mehta on Nov 21, 2009

If it has a supercharged Coyote V8 in a supercar-like body, this thing could be a hit. Every one of the Ford GT owners are gonna want one to add to their collection.

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Bocatrip on Nov 21, 2009

I remember how the Pantera was sold through Lincoln/Mercury Dealerships along with the Mercury Capri in the early 70s. Hopefully the new and improved version will be free of the overheating. I still remember seeing these cars barely off the showroom floor in the shop with issues.

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Porschespeed on Nov 21, 2009
De Tomaso produced a series of highly regarded low-volume sports cars. Lewd thoughts of the Mangusta or the Pantera still make geriatric connoisseurs drool. Mangusta? As lovely to look at as it was horrible to drive. Pantera? Once sorted, pretty nice - and you either love the boy-racer GT-5 or you don't. (Much like the Countach, you either dig the early form or the bespoilered evolution. Few like both. But I digress...) Longchamp? Save for the hardcore whackos - such as myself - how many people have ever even heard of it, let alone seen one. I've heard the Guara is/was a pretty sweet piece, but having never seen or driven one personally, I reserve judgement. But it looks cool. I just hope the SUV isn't LaForza part deux...

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Kristjan Ambroz on Nov 23, 2009

I hope it comes complete with De Tomaso style shirts (left cuff designed so you can wear a watch over it, in Alejandro's fashion) :) I guess the other aspect - rebadging the cars and selling them as Maseratis will not happen this time around...

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